


At the Edge

by GeekyStorytelling



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-06 04:00:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10325144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeekyStorytelling/pseuds/GeekyStorytelling
Summary: Young Alex Danvers deals with her fathers death in the only way she knows how.





	

“I can’t believe you! He’s gone! Don’t you get it? He’s not coming back. I just, I can’t right now!” Alex yelled at her mother before speeding out the door leaving only the reverberating echo of screen hitting doorframe to punctuate her despair. 

Running as fast as her feet would carry her, Alex took no notice of the direction her body led her.

The wind cradled her aching limbs as she slowed to a walk only a few blocks from her Midvale house, tears staining her cheeks as her shoulders shook with the silent sounds she dared not speak aloud. 

Head bowed, Alex continued to walk up the twisting hilly roads not taking particular care to turn in any one direction.  


The afternoon sun stood at attention though she found little comfort in its rays, leaving the sunbathing to her sister Kara. 

Alex concentrated on the memorized movements made by her muscles; picking her foot up, putting it down, bending her knees to reach out just a bit further to move just a bit faster. She listlessly forfeited control of her actions to the comforting familiarity offered in the burn of her legs.

Smelling the air before seeing the horizon, the salty aura stung her raw eyes. Blinking rapidly, Alex adjusted to the briny wind as she continued her trek up the hill. The familiar aroma served as a reminder that some things don’t change.

Her dried tears served as a reminder that some things do.

Reaching the top of the hill, the horizon unfolded before her. Like a painting on one of Kara’s canvases, the line where the sky met the sea outlined the expanse of the world. And, after Kara’s arrival, the expanse of the universe.

It was the expanse that gave her the missing part of her soul, her fraternal twin, her other half.

It was the expanse that swallowed her dad whole.

Stumbling down the hill, Alex reached the beach. Taking a moment to appreciate the privacy offered by the tall reeds, she took a deep breath steadying herself before breaking into a jerky run to the shore. 

Padding quickly towards the water, Alex held her arms close to her chest as though holding herself back from reaching out to embrace the water itself. 

Arriving at the shore line, Alex stepped on the back of her heels kicking her shoes off with minimal effort. Continuing in one stride, she walked into the tide basking in the feeling of the chilled water on her calloused feet.

Striding forward, the water rose up her legs caressing her calves with a familiar lover’s touch. Scrunching up her face, Alex barely held back the torrent of tears that were threatening release. 

Unable to remain upright any longer, Alex fell to her knees within the shallow watery depths of the Pacific. Her knees left fleeting indentations in the sand, a reminder that nothing was permanent.

The billowing current did little to stabilize the shaking teen in the surf. Reaching downwards, Alex scrambled to grasp onto the malleable sand beneath her. Head flush with her chest, Alex relied on her sand filled clenched fist to keep her from crashing into the ocean below. 

Half submerged in the tide, Alex took comfort in the breaking of the waves and the pull of the tide feeling as though the ocean itself was engulfing her in a swaying embrace. 

Jeremiah used to hug her like that. 

All encompassing. 

When Eliza was too hard on her and Kara too new to understand her, he was there to remind her she was good. She was worth it. She was brilliant. She was perfect. So perfect.

Her hoarse vocal chords and salt stained cheeks told the story of her imperfections. Her failures. She was a failure.

Her only means of communicating with her mother was through defensive yells and attacking accusations. They were engaged in a revolving dance, a battle of wills, that neither had hope of winning. Jeremiah would have ended it before it began. Jeremiah wasn’t here. He would never be there. Never again.

The ocean was her only reminder now. She hadn’t touched a board since Eliza sat her and Kara down in the living room and subsequently ruined any chance of her finding equilibrium in her volatile existence. 

When the fire in her built up and bubbled over, when her mouth spit sparks igniting pain in those in her orbit, when the heat of her ache burned red hot in her veins - that was when she escaped to the ocean.

No longer could she rely on her father’s serene presence. His calm reassurance. His easy love. Now, the ocean was the only soothing balm capable of healing her blisters. 

Slowly rising from her bent position, Alex gracelessly splashed into a sitting position on the ocean floor allowing the surf to wash over her body- leaving only her head above the pulling waters.

Taking deep shuddering breaths Alex wanted to drift. She wanted to let her aching heart float away with the surf. To find her place amongst the sea. To be part of something so beautiful- so simple.

Instead her life was complicated and filled with bruised knuckles and broken hearts.

Finally letting the tears escape, Alex could no longer tell where the water began and her tears ended.

Sitting there for what seemed like hours, Alex was startled as a shadow blocked out the familiar rays of sol.

Looking up, Alex was unsurprised to see Kara moving gracefully through the tide- ignoring the pull like a cat swatting a mouse out of its way. 

Coming to a stop, Kara took a seat next to Alex closing her eyes and leaning her head on her sister’s shoulder.

After sitting in silence for a few minutes, Alex broke, mumbling in a pained tone, “What are you doing here Kar?” 

Lifting her head from Alex’s shoulder, Kara looked at her sister with such love, such devotion. Alex tore her gaze from Kara, unable to look into the reassuring face of her sister. Alex forced her sight out onto the rolling waves that reminded her of the crashing family she was running from. 

“You are here, Alex. So I am here” Kara said in response taking Alex’s hand and threading it with her own. 

Bringing their joint hands into her lap, Kara gently took her free hand up to Alex’s head and laid it on her shoulder. 

“No matter where you go or how far you go, I’ll be there,” Kara replied once more, Kissing Alex’s forehead, before allowing the now comfortable silence to take over.

As they sat there watching the sun slowly slip into sleep, Alex knew as long as she had Kara with her it was going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come chat with me at:  
> Tumblr: https://geekystorytelling.tumblr.com/  
> Twitter: @GeekyStories  
> Youtube: GeekyStorytelling


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